How To Shake Up Your Summer Shortcake Routine [Opinion] (2024)

Hurrah for the arrival of another shortcake season!

While I started out assuming everyone already knows what shortcake is, when I looked up the definition (just to be on the safe side), I discovered maybe shortcake isn’t exactly what I thought it was.

Wikipedia says, “Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly, scone-like texture.” I haven’t had a lot of experience with scones, so I was relieved to see the definition went on to say, “There are multiple variations of shortcake, most of which are served with fruit and cream.” That sounded more like it.

Growing up, I learned to love my mother’s version of shortcake. She made it using the “Velvet Crumb Cake” recipe (without the coconut topping) on the back of the Bisquick box.

Since we had a strawberry patch in our garden for much of my childhood, during strawberry season, it wasn’t uncommon for big slabs of strawberry shortcake to serve as our entire supper.

Mom baked her shortcake in an 8-inch-square pan. Since there were four of us — including my brother and me — she would take the cake, warm from the oven, and cut it into 4-inch squares.

The pale yellow cake pieces would be placed into low, flat soup bowls, leaving plenty of room to top the cake with strawberries followed by plenty of milk for the thirsty cake to soak up.

The sugar bowl was set on the table so we could sprinkle a spoonful over the top of the berries, if a little more sweetness was called for.

It’s funny the childhood memories that stick with you. I can still clearly visualize my mother sitting on the kitchen step stool at the old porcelain topped table in our summer kitchen, overlooking our backyard and the cropland to the west.

There she would cut the tops off ripe berries with a paring knife and then deftly slice the juicy berries into a small faceted-glass Fostoria bowl.

At the table we’d then dish strawberries onto our slices of cake, with the admonition not to take more than our fair share of the berries.

Mom usually waited until not long before supper to prepare the berries, so they didn’t have a chance to get soggy. That warm shortcake, topped with fresh strawberries and ice-cold milk was a culinary delight!

As a little girl, I remember wondering why it was called shortcake, though I don’t recall ever asking about it. My mother’s shortcakes didn’t rise very high in the baking pan, so I think I just assumed it was a “short” cake, and hence, the name.

When I looked up the definition of shortcake, I also learned a bit of history, such as how this cake actually came by its name. According to thedailymeal.com, “short” used in this context is an Old English term that refers to “something crisp with the addition of lard or shortening.”

I was also surprised to learn “short”-style cakes were first mentioned in 1588 in only the second cookbook to be printed in England.

The term “strawberry cake” first popped up in the United States in the June 1, 1845, issue of The Ohio Cultivator. However, that recipe appears to have been more of a cookie than a cake.

It was the introduction of baking soda and baking powder to America in the 1800s that would eventually lead to the origination of the term “strawberry shortcake.” Wikipedia states that, “By the 1860s, cream was being poured onto the shortcake and strawberries.”

I must confess, more often than not, Dennis or I will buy a little pre-made shortcake when we purchase a box of strawberries at one of our local farm markets. We’ve also discovered using a corn muffin instead of shortcake and topping it with berries and milk is also quite a treat.

While Bisquick boxes no longer include their Velvet Crumb Cake recipe, I was able to find it online and have made it when time permits. It brings back fond and tasty memories whenever I do.

While some folks might be sad to see strawberry shortcake season drawing to an end, don’t be too sad. My mother managed to make shortcake into a treat that lasted most of the summer — and Dennis and I like to do the same.

The trick is not to limit your shortcake topping just to strawberries. One of my favorite fruits to use on a shortcake is another idea from my mother — black cherries make a delicious shortcake topping. It’s one of my favorites, in fact.

I think my mother’s favorite shortcake topping was peaches. She loved peaches in all forms — whether peeled and sliced into a little dish, made into a peach pie or her famous peach custard — so it was only natural peach shortcake became part of her shortcake season repertoire.

I’ve also explored black raspberry shortcake using berries from our garden. Some folks enjoy doing likewise with blueberries — but I can never keep a box of them around long enough to even use them on shortcake. I just eat blueberries compulsively straight from their berry box, for a healthy snack.

Hopefully I’ve made your mouth water for a tasty shortcake, just as much as my own mouth is watering while writing this.

You won’t be disappointed, no matter which summer fruit you top it with.